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360 MAGAZINE is an award-winning international publishing on popular culture and design. We introduce avant trademarks to efficacious architects. We are a LGBTQIA2S+ friendly publication--officially recognized by the NGLCC. Our core demographic ranges from 19 to 39-year-old college-educated trendsetters within their respective international communities. The pages in this art book satisfy their strong interests including music, art, travel, auto, health, fashion, tech, philanthropy, design, food and entrepreneurship. It's an introspective digital/print/tablet portrait series, which encapsulates artists/brands/entities who embody the true essence of our publication- empowerment, equality, sensuality and most important of all, humanity within a global society.

How to Find a Reliable Home Contractor

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Most homeowners go through a hard time finding a reliable contractor even though there are hundreds of contractor companies. If you are looking for a contractor, you certainly don’t want one that is going to take longer than the agreed period, to finish your project.

On the contrary, you want a contractor that can do an awesome job within your stipulated budget and time. You may want a contractor for the construction of your home or for its renovation. Whatever your need, the following tips will help you pick a reliable home contractor.

Ask For References

The best thing about the internet is that you can get online references on various services. However, personal referrals are way more credible than online reviews and you should prioritize them over online referrals. Besides Google, other websites where homeowners can get reviews of contractors include Home Advisor, AngieList, and Yelp.

You can get personal referrals from sources like your friends and family, and the workers at your local hardware shops. You can also approach a homeowner who recently built their home to give you details about their contractor.

The best scenario is by combining online reviews and personal reviews. Remember to have an open mind when seeking referrals and be sure to do background checks on as many contractors as possible.

Be Specific About Your Project

It is not advisable to hire a contractor for home projects that are not clearly identified. For instance, hiring a contractor who specializes in roof to renovate your home interior is a bad idea. The unqualified contractor is likely to turn out unreliable as you may end up having to look for another contractor who is fit for the job.

Treat your home as you would treat your body and go for specialized services from a qualified contractor. You wouldn’t see an ophthalmologist when you have a broken arm, would you? Your home is made up of various areas that a general contractor may not know how to fix as well as a specialized contractor.

Get Proposals from Various Contractors

Once you reach out to your potential contractor, be ready to conduct interviews and ask lots of questions. Request t each of the contractors you are interviewing to write a proposal with their estimated prices for the entire project. The estimates should also include the prices of the materials to be used and any the costs.

Ensure every contractor makes their bid and then take your time to compare the bids. To widen your scope, experts recommend you reach out to as many as ten contractors. Hiring a contractor for your home project is a crucial part of your home project to answer important questions like shower waste and what to do with it, so take your time.

Go For the Busy One

When you are looking for a contractor you may find it easy to choose the available one since you want to start on your home project as soon as possible. However, going for the contractor who has lots of time on their hands may not be a good idea. Such a contractor is likely to be less experienced and may not be reliable, thus their low demands.

A reliable contractor is likely to be engaged in other projects already since they are on high demand. Therefore, you may have to wait for you to get on their schedule. Considering you want a well done job, you definitely can wait a few weeks or months for a perfect job.

Finally, be sure to pick the contractor with whom you have a good rapport as this will go a long way in ensuring you two communicate better. You may pick a contractor who is experienced but if you cannot communicate effectively with them, you may end up disappointed.

3 of the best casino scenes in popular movies

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Bursting with atmosphere, thrills, and suspense, it’s no wonder that casinos make such an appearance in popular culture. There has even been a whole range of songs, books, and TV programs written about the gambling experience. But some of the best casino moments definitely come from films. All it takes is one clubhouse act in a picture and the whole thing comes alive.

Here are just three of the moments that encapsulate that casino feeling.

Casino Royale (2006)

Mirroring the first of Ian Fleming’s 007 books, Casino Royale centers around James Bond’s first mission to overpower a private banker during a high-stakes game of poker. The most famous part in the film focuses on Bond playing a tense game of Texas hold ‘em and the whole scene is filled with jeopardy and skill, making poker a real highlight of the film.

Fans of the special agent will be able to tell you that James Bond has become a massively influential part of popular culture. While we can’t jump in and play poker with Bond himself, we can find Interac Casinos that host poker games for us to play safely online. Using a transfer system like this is undoubtedly easier than swapping cash for chips! Doing this means there are even options to play live casino and table games to get that real Casino Royale experience. Now all you need is a bottle of martini and a cocktail shaker.

The Hangover (2009)

How could one of the funniest films about Las Vegas not be on the list? Starring some of Hollywood’s best comedy actors, the movie is about a group of friends that spend a typical night in Sin City for a bachelor party. However, after waking up with memory loss, the feature takes on a different spin and focuses on the guys trying to piece together what happened the night before.

After finding a book about blackjack in their hotel room, the friends decide to go back to the casino to play some cards. As expected, the scene is a mixture of funny and exciting as Zach Galifianakis’s character enjoys a game of twenty-one whilst simultaneously putting on Chapstick. The rest of the film is spent trying to find the groom, meeting Mike Tyson, and wondering how the dentist of the group lost a tooth. The film has been so popular over the years that it now has its own set of Etsy Merchandise. That means you can forever remember the best lines of the picture through t-shirts, posters, and cards.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Although famously not a film about gambling, there are plenty of scenes in this weird and wonderful movie that take place in clubhouses. It is about an eccentric journalist and his friend who take a trip to Vegas to report on a car show. However, they decide to mix things up along the way and find themselves experiencing some unusual escapades instead.

Of course, the best scene from the film is when the men enter a casino hotel and, naturally, odd things start to happen. For example, the journalist spends his time walking around with a typewriter, talking nonsense whilst trying to book himself into a room. For fans of unconventional films, it will come as no shock to learn that the movie was made by director Terry Gilliam, a member of Monty Python known for his ways of bringing the surreal to life.

With their electric atmosphere and interesting characters, it’s no surprise filmmakers choose to set so many features in the exciting world of casinos.

Blink and You’ll Miss it!

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Canadian Ice Hockey

Watch just one professional ice hockey match and we guarantee you will be hooked for life. It’s one of the most exciting and fast-paced sports in the world; with players skating at up to 25mph and a puck flying towards the goal at 100mph, you will understand why you can’t afford to blink!

Betting is a huge part of Canadian ice hockey culture and one that is featured heavily by all of the best sports betting sites on wetten.com, where you are certain to find a bookmaker that fits the bill.

You can certainly add even more excitement by betting on ice hockey matches, although we don’t recommend some of the in-play options until you are fully conversant with what’s happening on the ice!

Love the sport – how do I bet?

Ice hockey is one of the rare games played over three sessions rather than two halves. Play is three 20-minute periods, with sufficient time between each for the players to get their breath back and plan strategy, for the Zamboni to restore the ice to pristine and for spectators to grab a much-needed beer.

The most common type of bet is Moneyline, which means a straight wager on which of the two teams you think will win the match. There are lots of others too; you could place a bet on your prediction of the score, or total number of goals at the end of each period of play, for example.

Ice hockey is both addictive and interactive. Although it is unlikely you will be able to attend a live match for a while yet, extended TV coverage and live-streaming from select bookmakers is currently bridging the NHL gap, both doing their best to keep the fan base happy until spectators are let loose again.

I want to bet – what’s the best plan?

The NHL currently comprises 31 teams, 24 located in the US and 7 from Canada. During the regular ice hockey season, each team will play 82 matches, 41 at their home rink and 41 away games. As you can see, that is a lot of matches and one hell of a lot of statistics.

If you intend to wager seriously based on studying stats, then your first port of call has to be the official NHL website, where you will find more statistics than you can comprehend, as well as all of the ice hockey rules and regulations too.

Don’t be daunted, if you only want to wager for fun, there are plenty of more ‘novel’ bets to catch your attention. Emotions run high on the ice and players often resort to physicality to settle their differences, usually leading to penalties plus a time-out in the ‘sin bin,’ you can even bet on that aspect if you like.

I prefer to follow the Canadian teams – where can I find out more?

No country in the world loves ice hockey as much as Canada and it has more professional teams than any similarly-populated part of the US, from a per capita perspective.

There are seven NHL teams playing out of Canada, all with their own websites and fan pages, where you can find out everything you need to know about the teams and individual players:

•Montreal Canadians

•Toronto Maple Leafs

•Vancouver Canucks

•Edmonton Oilers

•Calgary Flames

•Ottawa Senators

•Winnipeg Jets

Canada undoubtedly has some of the best ice hockey teams in the world and we know exactly how seriously Canadians take this sport. If your betting strategy is based largely around the seven Canadian teams playing in the NHL, then keeping up with all of the latest news is vital.

Particularly so for this season, as current Covid restrictions mean that changes have been made to Canadian match arrangements, which could affect your strategy.

Which bookie is best for Canadian ice hockey?

Canadian bookies come in many shapes and sizes, all of them offering betting on NHL matches. However, there are a select few Canadian operations that specialise in ice hockey betting, which we believe can offer you the best all-round experience.

Don’t forget to have fun!

It really doesn’t matter whether you have just discovered the joys of ice hockey or you are a lifelong fan, everyone sings off the same hymn sheet in the crowds, dress up in your team jersey and be prepared to shout, cheer and stamp as necessary.

You will never find another sport where everything moves so fast and where every second counts. Whether you are betting or not, you will certainly enjoy!

JOSHUA BASSETT

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JOSHUA BASSETT RELEASES SELF-TITLED DEBUT EP AND MUSIC VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE “TELLING MYSELF” – WATCH HERE

NOMINATED AND PRESENTING AT THE NICKELODEON KIDS’ CHOICE AWARDS

PERFORMING ON THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW ON MARCH 24TH

ANNOUNCES “A NIGHT WITH JOSHUA BASSETT: A ONE NIGHT ONLY VIRTUAL CONCERT EXPERIENCE” ON APRIL 16TH

After building feverish anticipation and emerging as one of 2021’s most exciting artists to watch, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actor Joshua Bassett releases his anxiously awaited self-titled debut EP on Warner Records—available HERE. To celebrate the release, he just shared the music video for new single “Telling Myself ” – watch it HERE.

In addition to releasing the EP this week, Joshua will make an appearance at the 2021 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards tomorrow, March 13th, where he is nominated for Favorite Male TV Star. Joshua will also perform a song from his EP on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on March 24th. Furthermore, Joshua will treat fans to his first ever virtual show, “A Night With Joshua Bassett: A One Night Only Virtual Concert Experience,” on April 16th at 9:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM PT. Performing his songs for the first time with a band, Joshua will showcase his multi-instrumentalist and songwriting prowess. Tickets are on sale now at joshuabassettmerch.com.

About the EP, Joshua said, “My debut EP is a rollercoaster of stories and emotions. It was written over the span of two years, so every song represents a different chapter of my life recently. It’s all about the messiness of relationships, the back and forth of falling into and falling out of love, and how those stories somehow come together into a cohesive chaos.”

The EP opens on the dreamy piano of “Sorry” as twinkling keys give way to his show-stopping delivery. Bass-y piano shuffles underneath the chantable hook, “She said, ‘You’ll be sorry when you left me, cause I’m the best thing that you aren’t ever gonna get again’.” Elsewhere, delicate fingerpicking carries the tender ballad “Do It All Again.” It culminates on the gorgeous “Heaven Is You” where he ignites one last uplifting refrain.

Joshua paved the way for the EP with “Lie Lie Lie” and “Only A Matter of Time” which received wide acclaim and established him as a breakthrough star. Teen Vogue raved, “‘Lie Lie Lie’ has a 2000s boy band feel in the best way – fun, acoustic, guitar-driven pop,” Elite Daily dubbed it “a total #mood,” and Billboard praised his “pop-rock talent, and ability not to mince words in his music.” The New York Times touted it on “The Playlist,” and Pop Sugar captured the excitement best with the admission, “I can’t wait to hear what other pop hits he has in store for his upcoming EP.”

Taking a moment to give back in a big way, Joshua recently pledged 100% of the proceeds from his merch store to the charity of the buyer’s choosing. Fans who pick up merchandise may pick one of five charities for their money to go to, all of which focus on youth-led movements or organizations led by next generation leaders, including A Long Walk Home, Jack, Teen Line, The Sunrise Movement, and The Young Feminist. Joshua is also donating 100% of the proceeds of sales of his “Franklin” Build-A-Bear furry friend available at his online merch store to CASA of Los Angeles (CASA/LA). CASA mobilizes community volunteers to advocate for children and youth who have experienced abuse and neglect. You can learn more about CASA/LA at casala.org.

Joshua Bassett may sing, write, act, and play multiple instruments, but he humbly identifies himself as “just a kid from San Diego who loves music.” Long before starring in the Disney+ original series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, generating millions of streams, and garnering widespread acclaim, he grew up surrounded by music in the suburb of Oceanside, CA. Described by many as an “old soul,” he played drums in church, taught himself ukulele, guitar, and piano, and wrote his first song for his homecoming date at 15. In addition to being homeschooled alongside his five sisters, he was able to strengthen his voice as a singer and actor in local theater productions. After various television parts on Dirty John, Grey’s Anatomy and more, he landed the lead role of Ricky in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series which premiered in November 2019. Simultaneously, he feverishly wrote music. Inking a deal with Warner Records, he unveiled his solo debut “Common Sense” and follow-up “Anyone Else” in 2020, laying the foundation for his debut EP out now.

Follow Joshua on TikTok.

Video Premiere Page.

Skeuomorphism in Online Casinos

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Design doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It borrows from emotion, from necessity and availability, and ties to societal and cultural context. Existing as one of those avenues, skeuomorphism is an element that many of us take for granted or at least gloss over. It’s a cornerstone component of design that seems obvious once pointed out, but can otherwise go unappreciated.

Understanding this reality, taking a look at skeuomorphism can reveal the depths of an object’s history. Using the concept of online slot games as a base, we want to explore the intricacies of the skeuomorphism idea, and why it’s so heavily leveraged. Just be aware that, as with the FedEx arrow, you might not be able to unsee what comes next.

What is Skeuomorphism?

The term skeuomorphism refers to when a derivative object retains ornamental elements of an older design, when not strictly necessary. In other words, skeuomorphism is when a new object keeps superfluous components that were included in older incarnations.

The most common illustration of this that you’ve likely experienced today comes from the digital world. In most document processing tools such MSWord, this would appear in the form of the save icon. This icon, in the shape of a 3 1⁄2-inch floppy disk, is something that younger users might not recognize at all.

With a grand total of 1.44 megabytes of storage, a floppy disk is utterly obsolete today. For context, Windows 3.1 was originally available over six of these disks for a total install. With the Windows 10 install ISO at around 3.5 gigabytes, maintaining this method today would require 2,431 disks. Storage has changed shape multiple times since the floppy disk, so why do we keep it?

Much of this is due to inherited momentum, and no reasonably viable replacement. The disk was once used every day, so we grew familiar with it. Even as it was phased out, we knew what it was, and saving still needed a recognizable icon, so it stayed. A decade later, when floppy drives have gone the way of the dodo, the icon persists as a legacy to the path once traveled. It doesn’t matter that newcomers don’t understand the legacy through direct contact, the symbol has been absorbed by osmosis into our worldwide zeitgeist.

Skeuomorphism in Online Casinos

Online casinos, also tied to digital evolution, are similarly intertwined with skeuomorphic representations. For a direct example of this, consider any of the best online slots in Canada. Existing far beyond the capabilities of their hardware ancestors, these games like Bompers and Greedy Dragon still lean on traditional slot iconography that is outdated by online standards.

These are usually spread over a few different slot concepts, such as coins, cards, and fruit. Each of these has a strong historical basis in physical slots, which has been maintained ever since the first machines arrived in the late 1800s. Coins, as the standout, are standard in physical machines, yet they’re only used as an abstract in the digital realm. In online casinos, it is even possible to divide coins into fractions not feasible in brick-and-mortar establishments, but this discrepancy doesn’t matter. We know what coins are, we know what they represent, and, because of this, they make perfect fits for modern online slot games.

The same could even be said for the reels themselves. There’s nothing in physical software that makes vertically rotating barrels a necessity, yet they’re still standard for almost every online slot. Again, this is skeuomorphism in action, serving an important purpose in relating modern slots back to their ancestors.

Developing Skeuomorphism Possibilities

As an industry entirely reliant on technological evolution, it’s only natural that online casinos will continuously evolve. From major leaps in accessibility as we saw with mobile phones to the gradual increase in processing power, each new year brings new possibilities. Within these new possibilities, the potential for skeuomorphism continues to grow.

One of the most profound new developments in online casinos has been the push towards live forms of gaming. This means streaming dealers into the home of players, essentially combining at-home convenience with the realism of physical casino play. Turning to skeuomorphism, these dealers are given outfits appropriate to those which were and are worn in brick-and-mortar establishments.

This is standard practice, even though such outfits are outdated by modern electronic standards. Workers like croupiers could dress in any professional attire in theory, but by dressing in a way that relates to classic sensibilities, they’re afforded more attention than they’d get otherwise. Again, it’s superfluous on the surface, but the advantages run much deeper than a simple glance might make us believe.

Going a step further, these dealers also include physical chips when live games are played. Originally designed for easily keeping track of the score, digital means are infinitely more efficient. Considering live games have to translate physical chips through a digital interface, the addition of chips is undeniably inconvenient. It also sells the experience as a professional operation, and so the inclusion of chips in the live casino space will be here to stay, no matter how casinos unfold.

From this point, the question becomes what happens in other few decades. So far, online casinos are around 25 years old, having first appeared on PC in 1996. Their relating back to the ideas of physical casinos makes sense, as that’s where the entirety of their inspiration was born. The issue is that online casinos are growing substantially each year, increasingly taking a part of the formerly physical casino-exclusive pie.

So, what happens in the future when online casinos are built not off of the legacy of physical casinos, but from the success of earlier online systems? In this case, the games of the casinos could inherit a sort of skeuomorphism off of existing skeuomorphism’s, where the lines of what is appropriate and what is not are much more blurred.

It’s an interesting concept, and not one which can be easily predicted. As an idea that relies as much on contemporary understandings as it does history, the future of skeuomorphism in casino games is always in flux. While we can be sure there will be more efforts that fall back on older casinos, the growing influence of the digital market will always act as a serious confounding factor going forward.

5 Useful Tips When Hiring a Garage Door Repair Company

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When it comes to something as important as your home, you don’t want to get into the risk of hiring the wrong garage door repair company. The outcome can be costly and can pose a danger to your family too. Unfortunately, several garage door repair companies are not qualified to properly handle the job. With that in mind, it is therefore essential for you to know what to look for when hiring a garage door repair company.

Regardless of the kind of company you are dealing in, there will always be individuals or companies that will want to take advantage of the uninformed customer. This poses more risk when it comes to a more technical field, such as garage door repairs. Below are the tips to help you distinguish between a trusted and a manipulative company:

Tips for Choosing a Garage Repair Company

·       Look for Critical Information

·       Get different Bids

·       Seek Recommendation from Your Trusted people

·       Check the BBB ranging

·       Be Aware of Red Flags

1. Look for Critical Information

When considering having a garage door repair company, you always need to do enough research. You need to seek out and verify critical information. Some of the information you need to seek out about the hurricane garage doors include its physical address, online presence, and the company’s online reputation.

Any reputable company has got physical address listed down on their online platform. You need to verify its location provided is correct. Any great company should have an online presence. It doesn’t matter the website’s quality, but a company without a website should be of worry. Another thing is online reputation. Consider checking the online reviews of the given garage door repair company. It can be useful if you combine all of this information; it should provide you with a good idea of whether or not the company is good.

2. Get Different Bids

Any time you require a professional to do any work for you, getting many bids is significant. Having all this should provide you with a clue of the industry’s market value for any given task. It will also help you know whether or not you are signing up for a good deal. Ensure you compare the rate of various companies having similar features on their rates of payment. If they offer a warranty or they have 24hours service. Also, check if they use the sub-contracts or the technicians who the company employs. All this information is essential when comparing different offers. Don’t always go for services that are priced very cheap. This is because it may signify its low quality and shoddy work.

3. Seek Recommendations

The best way to get a reputable garage door repair company is by seeking recommendations from friends, family, and neighbors. There is a high chance that you are aware of someone who has had the kind of work done in the past. A referral or a positive warning can help you in your search for a reputable garage door repair company. The advantage of seeking recommendations from people you know is that there is no skin in the game. You will receive upfront and honest feedback. This is because they don’t want to damage their relationship with you by giving lousy directions. They also have no benefit from sending you to the company. Due to all this, there is no reason for them to provide you with erroneous information.

4. Check the BBB Ratings

The best way to find a reputable garage door repair company is by checking the rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Before you consider a company, you need to go to the BBB website and search for their name. You will be able to see through reviews and complaints about the company. Always go for a company that has been highly rated and accredited for a long time.

5. Be Aware of Red Flags

To avoid falling into the trap of an untrustworthy company, always take notice of the red flags, for instance, when a company excessively does advertising and multiple company names. Any garage door repair company needs to advertise, but doing excessively may be a cause for concern. There should be consistency in name in the area of advertising, website, and phone calls.

Finding the right company to do your garage door repair will be very easy when you master the above tips. You need to properly verify if hurricane garage doors properly qualify for the task. This is to help avoid the risk of incurring additional costs due to repletion or shoddy work.

Additional Resource: To learn about garage storage, click here.

Tea Drunk

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Tea Drunk is a Certified Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise in New York City and is known for being the most prestigious Chinese tea house in the North America. Founder and Tea Expert Shunan Teng travels to the historic tea mountains of China each spring to commission some of the rarest tea in the world to showcase their top terroir, superb craftsmanship, and true-to-origin varietals.

Shunan commissions and sources teas in the most conservative fashion to bring discerning connoisseurs the utmost traditional essence of historical teas. Teas that are meticulously curated like Gua Pian Green Tea (Melon Seed Tea) from Lu An. Lu An is one of the oldest tea-making regions in China with over 1000 years of tea-making history. This historically famous style of tea goes through a unique La Da Huo processing step that gives the tea a pleasantly toasty flavor that compliments its grassy umami taste, buttery mouthfeel and bold sugary undertone. We feel this flavor profile and mouthfeel rivals that of the hip Japanese Matcha. Gua Pian is being highlighted as the next trend in tea, with whole loose leaves, there is a lower extraction rate of caffeine, allowing your body to get all of the benefits of the complex compounds found in green tea (such as l-theanine and catechins) with a more body friendly level of caffeine.

Although many different flowers and herbs can be dried, steeped in hot water, and called “tea,” actual tea leaves come from the plant camellia sinensis. From just this one plant alone, humans discovered that through manipulation of heat, moisture, and physical disturbance of the tea leaves, this one plant can yield almost endless variations in taste and aroma. It’s a fragile ancient art form and through education and access, Tea Drunk aims to cultivate awareness in preserving it for years to come.

You can also increase your level of tea savvy straight from the source with Tea Drunk. Experience teas such as Gua Pian right from the comfort of your home (or wherever you may be) with Tea Drunk’s Educational Tea Club. Their twice monthly expert led Zoom sessions allow you to travel deep into your cup and senses in a welcoming community of tea lovers. They have two tiers of sessions, a Sampler and a Reserve, with the Reserve specializing in the highest tier of rare teas. Each box is hand curated based on concepts such as vintage, location, or theme to help you develop your palate in comparative tastings. The tea club grants you unparalleled access to transparency and high-quality education while having a blast exploring teas with others virtually.

Shunan, is an avid educator on tea and has spoken at many prestigious institutions including: Yale University; Christie’s; Van Cleef & Arpels; World Tea Expo; and Stony Brook University. She has collaborated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art to execute a temporary Chinese tea house in the museum and is the educator for TED Ed lesson – The History of Tea.

It’s truly an experience that goes well beyond any other tea subscription service on the market. You are able to deepen your personal tea knowledge alongside other like-minded individuals and grow together in community while connecting with this ancient art form of traditional tea processing. It’s an act people have been doing for tens of thousands of years, and today we get to do the same thing with people all over the world. With Tea Drunk, tea is not just a beverage; it’s an experience meant to be savored and shared.

MADELINE BANIC × X1-PRO

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American Record Holder, International Swim League (ISL) breakout athlete Madeline “Maddy” Banic sets sights on Tokyo Olympics by training less, using X1-PRO

Madeline “Maddy” Banic, the 18-time all-American NCAA swimmer who earned a neck-load of gold medals while swimming for the University of Tennessee and broke out on the scene for the ISL in 2020, has signed with GMX7 as an ambassador, joining GMX7 ambassador and 4-time Olympian Ryan Lochte with sights on ever bigger aspirations for 2021.

According to Banic, while she’ll continue swimming with the ISL, her next goal is to hopefully make the U.S. Olympic Team to compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

“It’s definitely my dream, and I’m pretty sure, it’s every competitive swimmer’s dream, to go to the Olympics,” said Banic, who broke the American record for the 50-meter fly at the ISL and was one of the top three breakout swimmers over the 8-week pro league. “I dream about it every day. It’s on my phone under my goals to have an American Flag Banic cap from the Olympics.”

Banic, who saw major improvements in her performance in 2020, attributes her success to a few key components, which includes practicing less.

That may sound counter intuitive, but it seems to have worked for Banic.

“Before COVID, I was absolutely murdering my body in practices, keeping my heartrate at 170 or above for several hours,” said Banic. “But when COVID hit, we weren’t able to train indoors, so I started boxing, cycling, running and kayaking and basically exercising outdoors. When I started swimming again, I was putting up decent times and that’s when I realized I had really been over doing it before.”

Then, at the end of May, Banic met David McCagg, the former 7-time gold medalist who started GMX7 and developed the X1-PRO resistance trainer, which Olympians Ryan Lochte and Caeleb Dressel also use. McCagg met Banic’s training group in Naples where she was able to try the X1-PRO.

“At first, I was skeptical. I mean, racks and towers were the standard for resistance training, but the X1-PRO changes that. It really helped me with my underwater,” said Banic, who used the X1-PRO twice a week to prepare for ISL Budapest. “Now, I use it all the time and love the X1-PRO because it’s not jerky and it travels with you the whole 25 back and forth for continuous training.”

According to Banic, her routine typically goes like this. She wakes up at 7:45 a.m., has a banana and gets ready for practice. Then, she’s in the pool from 8:45 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. At 11:30 a.m., breakfast includes eggs, avocado, yogurt, some fruit and lots of coffee.

Then, it’s time to hang out with her 5-year-old Border Collie-Australian Shepherd mix, named Remi. At 3 p.m. lunch is served which can vary, but often includes a sandwich, crackers, guacamole, salsa and dip. From 6:30 until 8:30 p.m. she’s back in the pool. After the evening swim, dinner almost always includes a meat, carb and veggie.

“That’s my typical doubles routine, but when I have singles, I’ll add in cycling with either a road bike or stationary bike, or I’ll do some yoga,” said Banic.

In addition to the workouts, and training with the X1-PRO, according to Banic, her other secret to success is her weekly massage.

“It’s an absolute must,” Banic said.

While 2020 was a tough year for many, Banic, who has publicly discussed her past struggles with depression and has helped others through her transparency, seems to have flourished and discovered more about herself. It has led to the realistic possibility of her perhaps earning a spot to compete in Tokyo at the Olympics for team USA.

“I’m definitely going to try my absolute best to make the Olympics,” said Banic. “I think that the ISL season proved that I’m kind of an underdog, but no matter how it goes, look out for the next ISL season.”

About GMX7

Founded in 2018, GMX7 is based in St. Petersburg, Florida and is dedicated to changing the world of swimming by empowering competitive swimmers with the best aquatic resistance training devices ever created. GMX7 was founded by David McCagg, a 7-time gold medalist, former world record holder and winner of multiple national championships. The first device on the market by GMX7 is the X1-PRO. Designed by ROBRADY Engineering, it has already been the recipient of several international awards including the 2020 International Design Excellence Award and the 2020 Red Dot Award for product design.

NFL uniform rankings: which are the best and worst in the league?

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It’s fair to say that the NFL is still one of the major sports in America, with millions of fans following the action each season. This saw $9.5 billion in revenue made by the NFL in 2020 and each team in the league getting a slice of this to build with. With the 2020 season delivering all the usual thrills and spills (with an exciting Super Bowl game to top it off), it is still a sport that offers so much to fans.

It is not just watching the drama unfold that brings so many people to the NFL, though. Betting on this sport also draws many fans in to keep up with the action. The AGA estimated that the 2018 Superbowl drew almost $5 billion in bets – much of it illicit. Thankfully, 2021 is a different time, and sports betting is making its way to gradual nation-wide legalization, with many states already fully allowing it.

In terms of actually making a profit from your wagers, for many, the key to success is finding the best NFL picks and predictions to use in their betting. If you can make the correct calls, it really helps you get the most from sports betting in the long term.

Of course, it is also the individual teams that make the NFL what it is. While the players that each team fields count for a lot, smaller things, such as the uniform each team wears, are very important. A snazzy uniform can help attract fans and make them feel good about their team – as well as leading to more shirt sales! A poorly executed uniform, on the other hand, can have the opposite effect.

With the NFL in off-season until September, now is the perfect time to look at which teams come out best and worst in terms of stylish uniforms.

Best 3 NFL team uniforms – Packers, Saints and Rams

As it is always nice to look on the bright side of life, let’s start with the most fashionable NFL uniforms around. While teams are always rebranding and updating each off-season, these are the current top three:

First up are the Green Bay Packers. The green and gold shirt design is pure class and instantly recognizable. It has remained pretty much unchanged for a long time and this gives it a really classic feel. The flash of yellow on the sleeve edging gives it extra zip, while the all-yellow pants complement the shirt perfectly.

Second best would probably be the LA Rams. This might be slightly controversial, as they had a kit rebrand recently, which was not to everyone’s taste. For a lot of fans, though, it looks awesome and is a definite update on their old uniform! The all-blue shirts and pants give an elite vibe, while the tight fit of both gives players an almost video game-style outline.

Third place must go to the New Orleans Saints. All you really need to know is that their uniform brings together black, gold and white to stunning effect. The players helmets, in particular, work very well, as the gold color and white stripe help offset the black uniform itself. For the same reason, the gold player numbering also stands out well on the black shirts.

Bottom 3 NFL uniforms – Jets, Bengals and Falcons

While the previous teams have got it spot-on in terms of cool uniforms, these three have not. First up are the recently rebranded New York Jets. There is just something about this uniform that does not work, and it looks ugly. This is mainly down to the outdated feel and how the white lettering sits awkwardly on the shade of green that is used.

If the Jets uniform is boring, then the Bengals have almost the opposite problem – there is just too much going on! The orange helmets with black stripes are like a migraine-inducing magic eye picture, while the stripe of orange on the black pants does not work, either. Throw in a shade of orange on the shirt, which anyone would find hard to pull on, and you have a real disaster.

Last up are the Atlanta Falcons. They (like the Jets) recently rebranded but somehow managed to go backwards in terms of cool-looking uniforms. Whoever thought all white is a good look for the football field needs a serious eye test! The lettering and numbering on the uniform also looks like it has come from a Sega Mega Drive. All in all, it is a real no-no.

NFL uniforms are key to the game’s appeal

Although football is a sport, what the teams in the NFL wear really does matter. Just as you would only add the most stylish Italian fashion brands to your wardrobe, teams can only expect their uniform to be a hit if it looks great. Getting this right not only affects how the players feel when they wear their uniforms but also how the fans feel when they see them.

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